Tshepsi
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[edit] Birth
In the year 626, the Syladris began to appear for the first time to the human race of Crown's Refuge. The reason for their sudden emergence from the earth after the Ravager's destruction was unknown, but the wisdom of one whom they call "Lady" and the humans know as "archmage" may one day bestow an answer.
Awoken from her lack of existance, or "rest" as she would call it, by the disturbance made when Kalath'aria drove He Who Destroys into the ground, Tshepsi's sleeping ears were filled with whispers from ancient tongues, both the Shadow and the Light, and which she believes was the one the Syladris worship - the white dragon.
The first of the Syladris to be raised from the ground, she wandered with seemingly lost motive through the wildlands until she was discovered by Archon Soravyn Zahir. The former Fastheldian took the creature in with both pity and curiousity, perhaps moreso of the latter, and nursed the weakened creature to better health. Clothed and recovered, Tshepsi would later aid Soravyn in fending off a small group of Ebonhold raiders and reestablish Crown's Refuge.
[edit] The Summoning
For several months, more of the Syladris began to reappear, many of them drawn to the vicinity of Crown's Reach. One by one, the half human, half snake beings were discovered in their prone or disoriented state. The reasons for their attraction to Crown's Refuge is uncertain, but it could be that the presence of the Lady had become a beacon. During this time, Crown's Refuge was swiftly growing into a city more fortified than the original His Majesty of Fastheld left behind with aid from the Shadow's more benevolent touches.
The progress was interrupted, however, when a male Syladri was bestowed with a favor from Val'sharax and empowered to the point of swaying the minds of men to his wicked cause. The city turned on itself, divided, and her Ladyship was cornered in the Tempest Spire. There she was used as a bartering tool by the offending Syladri in attempts to gather the rest of Crown's Reach people into submission. Their refusal would mean her death.
It was in the midst of this conflict that the expeditioners from Fastheld arrived and made their barter with the Red Dragon. Precious armory in exchange for the quelling of the Shadow's malicious influence in those who had followed "His" calling. When the exchange was made, the dragon's end of the bargain was upheld, and those holding the Spire hostage were disbanded.
The freeing was not without casualty, however. Shortly after she had been confined, a small troop of men was sent to remove the horns from her head - an act not only to humiliate the archmage, but to cripple what was thought to be the source of her power, given the unusually large size of the horns. The act was carried out as ordered, and as her captor well knew, most of the men who were charged with removing them did not escape the spire with their lives. The skewered and crushed bodies were disposed of only after the spire was set free.
[edit] "Deep Fear"
Some months after stability returned to the Refuge, the Arch Mage's personal stability faltered, though there are some who would argue that she lacked much to begin with. Her beloved Archon, Soravyn Zahir, vanished without trace from the community, leaving the woman Evaryn to stand as the new Archon. While shaken, Tshepsi accepted the new body as her equal, for dire times had struck the township yet again and their survival would demand firm leadership.
The Shadow, restless since its last failure to conquer the Refuge, was waking in new form. Strange accounts of stone dragons seen in the sky and terrible screams at night rose in number. When the first attack was witnessed first hand by some, the Refuge rose to action with members Blackfox, Bloodstone, Syladris Aeseyri, and the Fastheldian Taran Songbird in the lead alongside the Arch Mage and Archon.
Tshepsi's mysterious claims and cryptic words of wisdom led the men and women to come across the lair of the spawning wickedness. The horror they uncovered was merely the beginning of a series of events and visions that eventually resulted in the prophecy of the "Acarit King", the one called Eliare, being reborn.
The item in demand, the item to be bartered for the survival of the Refuge, now lays in the care of the Spire's Lady after having been brought by the Fastheldian Deeper Thayndor Zahir and his companion Otto Stonefish. The item in question? The Ingress of Sorrentir - a mummified hand that wields greater power than those living.
Crown's Refuge weathered the first wave of the battle - a brief attack ended when the risen Eliare realized his quarry - Tshepsi and the Ingress - were no longer there. Where they had been hidden is anyone's guess. Many speculate that Tshepsi broke and simply fled to find her Soravyn, abandoning the damned Refuge to whatever fate claimed it.
She hadn't gone far, but the Ingress was indeed destined to vanished permanently from her home's safe ground. Through the abhorred language known as "Deep tongue", Tshepsi whispered through the darkness to call upon the most trusted of all dragons - the White Dragon - a prayer to end Eliare's business with the Refuge forever. In the darkness a pact was made, the terms of which she would not understand full consequence of until the binds of Fastheld had restricted the humans of Crown's Refuge as their own. The Ingress of Sorenn, however, was taken to a place where no harm could befall it and no wicked hand could reach.
Crown's Refuge became unified with Fastheld officially, wildlanders becoming as freelanders, and the Syladris free of status as delineated by their separate race. This change and enforcement of rules and restrictions did not settle well with most of the Refuge inhabitants and many came to resent Tshepsi for it. Her heart remains sound in her decision, however, as it was the only way to secure her fellow peoples' survival, regardless of their species.
[edit] Familial Information
Born: Unknown
Died:
Parents: Unknown
Siblings: Unknown
Children:
Tshepsi differs greatly from the rest of her race that's been discovered to date. Her coloration, for instance, consists mainly of white and other very pale hues. The rack of horns that sprout from her head were larger and more heavily set than what's typical of a Syladri female. Tattoos of mysterious origin permanently paint the tip of her tail and abdomen, written in a language that time has forgotten.
[edit] Badges
